SBA 7(a) Gas Station Feasibility Study in New Jersey

New Jersey fuel stations: borrowing well under the national ratio

New Jersey's gas station and truck stop cell gathers 64 loans from the FY2017 to FY2026 approvals under 7(a), worth $37.2 million. The median loan is $350,000, 0.32x the nationwide median for the class. The interquartile range is $50,000 to $685,000, and 14.1% of loans are franchised. New Jersey ranks 21 on loan count, and inside the state the class is 18 of 39.

TD Bank and a scattered map

TD Bank, National Association leads with 19 loans and $3.5 million; the next holder, Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company, has 7 loans and $625,000, and Peapack Private Bank and Trust with just 6 loans yet $4.2 million, a much higher average. Bergen County has 8 loans, Camden and Morris 7 each, Middlesex 5, and Atlantic, Passaic and Union 4 each. Counts moved from 12 loans and $7.8 million in FY2021 to just 2 loans and $1.6 million in FY2022, and FY2026 recorded 10 loans and $1.5 million.

The cancellation floor is the feature to notice: 22.2% of New Jersey station approvals between FY2017 and FY2024 fell away, and the ceiling is identical. Charge-off results for the funded loans of FY2017 to FY2021 are not published, because a cohort of under 30 funded loans gets no rate from Loan Analytics; the rate is unknown, not zero.

Testing a New Jersey station request

Classification here follows what the borrower sells, so truck stops and travel centers are in the class and cannot be separated from stations without a store, while the 2022 index gives electric vehicle chargers nowhere of their own to sit. A New Jersey study should state what the site sells. Fuel gallons, margin per gallon and convenience store revenue drive cash flow, so the study needs traffic data, a view of nearby competitors, and a supply contract review. Tank age, compliance and cleanup liability belong in the study, so environmental history goes near the front. Given the cancellation floor, the lender should see that permits and sale terms are settled. Coverage should hold if fuel margins compress. The study should also state who will manage the site daily and whether the borrower has operated fuel retail before, because a first-time operator faces permitting, supply and compliance duties at once.